Quick answers to questions on parliamentary procedure

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Agenda (1) Boards (2) bylaws (2) Debate (2) Elections (4) Minutes (3) Officers (3) Presiding (1) Quorum (1) Voting (3)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Can Custom Trump Bylaws?

Q: The bylaws for our temple specify the new terms begin immediately after election following the Annual meeting.  The sitting president insists that new terms begin at the end of fiscal year.  The parliamentarian says practice has been for new term to begin after the installation.  Who is right?  Can custom or perceived custom trump by-laws?

Custom does not trump bylaws.  If your bylaws clearly specify when the beginning and ending of the terms are, then they bylaws must be followed.
 
Bylaws are a higher order of rules.  They trump everything but articles of incorporation or state law.  They even trump Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised.  Bylaws are hard to change for the simple reason is that they are designed to give your organization stability and structure.

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised states that bylaws include "all rules that the society considers so important that they (a) cannot be changed without previous notice to the members and a the vote of a specified large majority (such as a two-thirds vote), and (b) cannot be suspended (with the exception of clauses that provide for their own suspension)" (see page 12).

I recommend that you go by your bylaws. If your temple wishes to change the term of officers, then the procedure in your bylaws for amending the bylaws should be followed.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

When Should Discussion Be Entertained?

Q: As a pastor of a young and growing ministry I must know I am doing things right.  During any business meeting while entertaining a Motion & Second where should discussion be enteretained?  We have thus far had a Motion & A Second then Discussion... Is this correct?

A motion is properly introduced with three steps:

1. A member Moves it

2. Another Seconds it

3. The chair States the motion (e.g., "It is moved and seconded to refer the pending question to a committee of three")

Once it has been stated by the chair, the motion becomes the property of the assembly. It is now open for discussion.  The purpose of this is to prevent idle and unfocused discussion from taking place. It also forces the members to think about what they want to do ahead of time and come to the meeting with a well thought out plan or proposal.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Shifting Votes to Another Candidate

Q: If a member runs for election to the Association Board, then removes her name from consideration, can he/she request that her accumulated mail-in votes be given to another candidate who is running?


The simple answer is no. Unless there are special bylaws provisions for allowing a candidate to control the application of the votes cash for him, the votes are only good for this one election. The will of the voter was to cast the vote for the person only.

Let us assume that in the three way race, no candidate receives a majority. A second ballot would be required. Before issuing the second ballot, a candidate can encourage those who voted for him on the first ballot to vote for a specific candidate on the second ballot. The voters would still be free to cast their votes as their wish, the desire of the candidates not withstanding.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Duties and Term of Office

Q : At what point do some of the newly elected officers start their jobs?  In particular, is the newly elected Membership Chair able to begin her job a month before the fiscal year?  May she begin by sending out notices that the dues for the new year will be due within the next month, and start the cammpaign for new members, or does the present Chair make the decisions as to how the committee will operate in the new fiscal year?

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised states: "An officer-elect takes possession of his office immediately upon his election's becoming final, unless the bylaws or other rules specify a later time."  Also . . . "An election to an office becomes final immediately if the candidate is present and does not decline, or if he is absent but has consented to his candidacy." (see page 430)

If your bylaws do not specify when the term of office begins, it is immediate upon acceptance of the person elected. Some organizations will specify in their bylaws when the term of office begins, such as immediately after the annual meeting, or on a specific date. If there is no special provision to do so, the term begins once the election is final.

As for taking on the duties before assuming office, this is not allowed. The current officeholder has all the rights and responsibilities connected with the office until he/she resigns or until the term of office ends.  Although the newly elected Membership Chair can certainly prepare for her term in advance, she cannot take on the duties until her term begins.  The current Membership Chair has no authority beyond her term and cannot make decisions as to how the committee will operate in the new term.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Vote of Confidence

Q: Every year my organization has to have a "Vote Of Confidence" for its elected officers.  As parliamentarian I cannot find any procedure to do this in Robert's Rules Of Order.  Is there an established voting procedure for this?

You are correct that Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) does not mention such a vote. In parliamentary style governments (i.e., England and Canada), there is a vote of no confidence, which essentially dissolves parliament and forces an election. It is rarely used and rarely successful when attempted. There is no such procedure in America.

RONR does mention the motion to Censure (see page 120). A motion to Censure does not remove the subject of the motion, but serves as a formal reprimand. Censures are embarrassing to the recipient and the result goes into the minutes, to be recorded for all time in the history of the organization. A motion to Censure may be the closest thing to a vote of no confidence.

Your organization, however, uses a vote of confidence. RONR mentions a motion to "commend" as being the opposite of the motion to Censure (see page 131, line 12). Your vote of confidence may be similar to a motion to commend the elected officers.

The important question is what would be the repercussions if the organization rejected the vote of confidence? Unless your bylaws and rules have clear procedures for this, I do not think the impact would be any different than that of rejecting a motion to commend.

You are right to be questioning any type of procedure that is vague and not clearly defined. Your efforts here will prevent future problems from occurring. A rule of procedure should be adopted to define how the vote of confidence should be used and the impact of adopting or rejecting it.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

When Can The President Vote?

Q: If there are no restrictions stated in a organization's constitution, is it unconstitutional for a president to vote during elections if he/she is presiding over the election?


The rules here are simple. The presiding officer has the right to vote as any member, however, he/she should refrain from voting as much as possible in order to maintain a sense of impartiality before the assembly. There are three cases when the presiding officer can vote:

1. A ballot vote
The results are secret and the presiding officer does not lose impartiality by voting.

2. A roll call vote
All votes are recorded in the minutes and the presiding officer's vote is recorded just as the other members.

3. Making or breaking a tie
If a tie exists, the motion or election will be lost. The presiding officer can vote "yes" to break a tie, if he has not already voted (cannot vote twice). If a vote is one more in the affirmative, the presiding officer can vote "no" to make a tie and defeat the motion or election.

It is recommended that elections be conducted by ballot. This enables the presiding officer to secretly cast his vote. Otherwise, the presiding officer might be placed in the unenviable position of voting to make or break a tie in an election -- the effect of which will be taken personally by the candidates and may set up the winners of the election with little confidence from the assembly as they begin their term.

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